Effect of Reduction Temperature on the Hydrodesulfurization Performance of Carbon-doped Alumina-supported Nickel Phosphide Catalyst

Nickel phosphide-carbon-doped alumina(Ni_(2)P/Al_(2)O_(3)-C)catalysts with 10 wt.%Ni_(2)P loading were successfully prepared via a hydrothermal reduction process and the effect of reduction temperature on the hydrodesulfurization(HDS)performance of the as-prepared Ni_(2)P/Al_(2)O_(3)-C catalysts was investigated.The properties of the support(Al_(2)O_(3)-C)and Ni_(2)P/Al_(2)O_(3)-C catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurements,X-ray diffractometry,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.The results indicated that the incorporation of carbon in the support aided the reduction of Ni_(2)P.With an increase in the reduction temperature,Ni and Ni_(12)P_(5) were first generated and then converted into crystalline Ni_(2)P.Furthermore,a higher reduction temperature enhanced the HDS performance of the catalyst by generating more well-dispersed active-phase crystalline Ni_(2)P.